Thursday, March 13, 2008

Chettinad Chicken (The Authentic Chettinad Chicken Recipe)

It is needless to mention the specialty of this item in chettinad cusine.The mouth watering taste of this dish is known all over the world .All non vegetarians in Asia for sure would have tasted this at least once. There are hundreds of recipes for chettinad chicken on the net written by almost all food bloggers. Though many of them are similar to the original one. I have tried to find out the original recipe from my mother and grand mother and has presented the authentic chettinad recipe. For the authentic taste, the masala has to be grinded in the hand grinder. But these days it is rather impossible and hence has to be satisfied with the taste of the masala made in the mixie

Traditionally chicken is not marinated before cooking in Chettinad chicken.As they used to cook in low fire for a long time in olden days the chicken will get the salt and hot taste once it gets cooked. These days the chicken we use is tender and gets cooked fast in gas stove. So I feel it is better to marinate the chicken for an hour before cooking. If you do not find time to marinate, then no problem.To marinate1 teaspoon kuzhambu milagai thool(the powder used for sambar)Salt-1 teaspoonCurd littleGinger garlic paste-1 teaspoon

ProcedureMince the onion, garlic and tomatoes.Keep the kadai in the stove. Season the curry with the items given in ‘to season’ in 2 tablespoons of oil.Add the onions and saute with a pinch of salt for 3 minutes.When the onions turn transparent add the garlic, sauté for some timeAdd the chopped tomatoes. Sauté till the whole thing gets smashed.Add the grinded paste of items given in No 1. Sauté it for a while.Now add the chicken pieces and nicely mix all the masala over the chicken pieces.You can see lot of water coming out of the chicken. Reduce the flame and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.Once you find that the chicken pieces are almost cooked increase the flame so that the gravy becomes thick.Once the curry gets thick add the masala grinded with the items given in No2 and mix nicelyCook for another 5 minutes.If you need the curry to be little watery add the masala little earlier and switch off when the curry is in the desired consistency.

Saravanan,Thankyou for your comments.Kulambu milgai thool and achi's kulambu milagai thool are some what similar only.They have just copied our chettinad kulambu thool recipe.There is nothing special about it.only the corriander chilli proportion.In chettinad while grinding we use two proprtion chilli for one proportion corriander seeds.Then all other ingredients used for sambar powder like pepper corns,small jeera,fennel seeds,vendayam etc.I will write a blog on chettinad kulambu milagai thool.We in chettinad use this thool for everything.I am also not pretty much sure about athirasam.I will ask my mother,try it and if comes good will blog the recipe

Certainly looking forward to learn more about Chettinad cuisine from your site! The book that you mentioned in your previous posts is not available in Singapore but i will keep a lookout for it nonetheless. Am going to be staying in Karaikal for a few days in September and have booked myself a room at 'The Chettinad Mansion', am looking forward to savour some authentic chettinad cuisine in its own hometown!

hi aunty, i tried ur chettinad chicken and prawn curry both were awesome....both dishes came out very well.... my husband liked it and said both were superb...i have a request aunty can u pl post some more chicken recipies here in usa we wont get mutton so chicken n prawns are the only availability....thanks for the recipies.

Hello Solai, Few questions on this chicken chettinad recipe..Appreciate any advice u can provide..1. I made this kuzhambhu milagai thool and it came out well (Thanks for the recipe..its a li'l bit too hot for me tho'..but my friends like it). Can I add this podi instead of chili powder and coriander powder in "grind No.1"?2. In "grind No 2" why do we need to add poppy seeds. Does it change thickness or add different flavor ??3. Can I sautee the marinated chicken pieces in med-high heat for 1-2 mins to seal the outside before adding to gravy? I heard this helps trap moisture. Whats ur opinion?4. I saw another website talking about adding kalpasi and jathipoo to the same dish. Are these used in chettinad houses. What do you think. Here's the link. http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/chicken_chettinadI like ur recipes better as it looks more authentic and u learnt it from ur mom or grandma.

Thanks for the wonderful recipes you post. I recently tried the Chettinad chicken & it came out so well. I am a vegetarian so did not taste it, but got all the appreciation from my husband. Thanks again.

I had tried the recipe with Chicken legs or Chicken drumsticks which we get in US, which added more taste to the dish.

Paarthaale saappidanumpola romba aasaiya irukku :) My dad had a lot of Chettiar colleagues, so I've always loved the Chettinad NV as a kid. I was very happy to have come across your site. Btw, totally 20 small onions and garlic pods of which 10 each are ground, so when you say "mince the garlic, onion..." in the Procedure section, do you mean the remaining 10 onions and garlic pods?

OMG!! I tried this recipe at home and absolutely loved it. Very authentic. I don't have to go to the restaurants anymore. Awesome taste. My husband loved it too. It will be regular dish in our household. It is a very nice blog too. Will certainly check it out regularly.Beautiful work!!

This is Olivia from Vancouver. I was really excited to see all the recipes in your blog because my husband and I have always loved Chettinad cuisine. I tried the Chettinad Chicken recipe this morning, and it came out really well. It tasted fantastic with idlis. My husband said it reminded him of the chicken gravy we had in Karaikudi Restaurant in Madurai 15 years ago( thanks to you!!!).

subashini,the beauty of chettinad cooking is that we dont use different masala powders.The main thing used is the kuzhambu milagai thool and its recipe has been blogged in masala powder section.For karakuzhambu use chilli powder and corriander powder in 1:2 ratio.dont confuse yourself with so many powders in the kitchen

hi solai..iam a very recent fan of chettinad style of cooking and I want to learn the authentic way of doing it.. now in you recipe.. when you say mince onions, garlic and tomato.. how much amount you have not specified in your recipe.. please do .. thanks

Dear solai, no words can describe how tasty this dish came out. Iam a big fan of chettinad and your recipe was perfect. I tempered the dish with a handful of curry leaves at the end to suit my taste buds. Thank you and rest assured I will be coming back for more..!!!

I am fan and i always cook recipes from your web site. I tried this Chettinad Chicken recipe twice but i dont know why my chicken was very pale coloured. Your picture shows the chicken is in red colour.

So normally i add chili powder and turmeric powder to bring the redness to the chicken. If not the chicken curry will look more whitish .. am i doing something wrong?

I am a new comer to your website. I have a question and suggestion. Under Chettinad Chicken, it is mentioned under inredients - small onions 30, and under grind No.1 - small onions 10. Are 10 small onions under grind no 1 is part of 30 small onions under incredients? This applies to garlic also.

Also, it will be better to give in weight - instead of number, since small can be any size.

I am a new comer to your website. I have a question and suggestion. Under Chettinad Chicken, it is mentioned under inredients - small onions 30, and under grind No.1 - small onions 10. Are 10 small onions under grind no 1 is part of 30 small onions under incredients? This applies to garlic also.

Also, it will be better to give in weight - instead of number, since small can be any size.

Also, We don't get small onions here @ London.. Hence I replaced small onions with large onion in this proportion 2 large onions = 30small onions.. does it make any diff if I cook the dish with large onions... When I cooked this on Monday, it reminded me of Mom's food.. tasted same.. tasted like Aviyal that we make @ home..

I am new to NV cooking.. And ur recipes are so easy to follow and today i tried ur chettinad chicken and it was awesome :) Tell us beginners more tips like about how to know if the chicken is completely and properly cooked or not...

i was very excited when i received my chettind chicken recipe comments....its awesome achi! u know everyone says wonderful recipe u have made ....very tasty...keep it up...really its very nice achi! thanks for ur recipe ....now i came to search how to cook (navarathna)vellai kurma for chappathi..i got that recipe...bubye take care!

i was very excited when i received my chettinad chicken recipe comments...everyone says that u have made a wonderful recipe..very tasty,mouth watering....good keep it up...those comments are received frim my family...really its nice..now i came to search for (navarathna)vellai kurma for chappathi...i got that recipe...bubye take care

I m from malaysia..I was googled more and satisfied...After seen ur dishes stopped google....Today i tried this dish..Really super..I m started to ur fan...Sure i will try more on ur chetinad dishes..I have request..Pls Give Suggestion how much glass water to add in all dishes....

Hi Aunty, Tried your chkn, awsome, It was hit with my girls. I replaced the coconut to some onions and Pottukadalai, still came out awesome... Please post some recipe with out much coconut and oil... your Kovakkai also super, I make it very often. Thank you....

I tried your chettinad chicken recipe yesterday, it was mouthwatering!! so yummy. Thank you so much. I love the chettinad cuisine and your blog just made my dreams of "cooking and eating authentic chettinad cuisine whenever I please" come true. Please keep posting more such recipes :)

Hi Solai i run a small catering services in USA. i have tried many of your recipes on my Wednesday South Indian special. i love all your recipes. really spicy & full of flavor.Keep adding some more gravy items so that we can all benefit from your wonderful recipesThanksRavi

Hello Aunty.. All your recipies are yummy.. I tried kozhi rasam, chettinad chicken & kathrikai masal.. all were very great.. and my hubby liked it very much & without any complaints for the first time...Am so happy.. Thank you so much aunty...

Today i tried out this receipe and came out very well. However, i hadnt marinated the chicken with kozhambu melagai thool, so may be i dint get the taste it was to suppose to have.. so chked out ur masala powder blog.. wld try with that out!!! thanks a loooott for you great receipes

Hello Solai Madam, This is Ritesh, a bong from Houston, Texas. I tried your chicken chettinaad and it turned out to be really yummy. Thanks a lot for the wonderful explanations. Ill try your other dishes.

Hello aunty,We tried this recipe,came out awesome,words can't express,the blend of masala esp fresh ground in the chicken is giving a wonderful taste to the dish,it's going very well with everything rice,dosa,we used to have this at restaurants,now we can try at home and eat often,I never thought I would cook like this,it's because of your blog,nobody will give out their culinary secrets as clearly as you give,people will tell superficially,but certain things they will with hold,thank you very much for the fabulous blog,skl

I'm new to cooking and this is the first ever time I cooked chicken. Your recipe was a perfect guide, my family loved it. Did as u hav specified, the chicken was perfectly cooked,.. overall AWESOME dish!!! Thank you so much for sharing this!

Thanks so much for sharing your Chettinad Chicken recipe. I made it a couple of times and both times the dish turned out consistently tasty (second time I used fresh coconut so it was a bit runny and not as dark as yours). A friend of ours who is a picky eater, loved it and requested I make it again! Considering his wife is an awesome cook, it was a great compliment to me. Many thanks!!

I like your process but I have a question which I hope you can answer. I have years of experience cooking various ethnic foods and my question comes from this experience.

The right kind of oil can differentiate between a good dish and a unearthly dish. I would like to know what kind of oil is used in traditional Chettinad method for this dish? Since I don't think you will be able to answer this before I make this dish for the first time (in a few hours), I am going to use 3 tablespoons Desi Ghee combined with 1 Tablespoons of genuine, unfiltered coconut oil. The coconut oil should accentuate grated coconut which is part of your recipe. I will let you know how it comes out.

I think one other difference between how you cook your dishes in India and how we can in the USA (where I am) is in the raw material - the chicken. The raw chicken here comes quite watery in a packet and on top of that people may wash it before cooking. That much water in the chicken is not a good thing as it can ruin pretty much any dish. To accommodate for this, I wash and pat dry my chicken pieces with paper towel until there is no moisture left in the chicken.

I'm a Bengali foodie, I was first introduced to authentic chettinad recipe during my 3.5 years stay in South India. After I returned to Kolkata, I have been searching for the same taste for a long time...finally I saw your blog and try out the same at home...it's just not all about food, it's also about cherishing the past Bangalore/Chennai days. And that only possible because of you...I've no words to thank you...

Hi Solai , I may be wrong, but chettinad without black peppercorn and low chilies like two green chilli and one spoon red chill powder is difficult for me to understand .If i remove coco nut , there is no difference between chicken masala and chettinad given by you

Abhay,this is the preparation that we folow in chettinad homes.I dont know about restaurents.There is a wrong concept that chettinad dishes are spicy.it is a wrong myth.I am a chettiar lady and we at home do like this